


The Road to Hell

by Angry_gremlin_commando



Category: Final Fantasy XIV
Genre: Gen, Implied/Referenced Child Neglect, Varis Is A Disaster Father, he tries to parent but fails miserably, no beta we die like men, this won't make much sense without knowing the short story
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-10
Updated: 2019-05-10
Packaged: 2020-02-29 13:03:46
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,768
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18778840
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Angry_gremlin_commando/pseuds/Angry_gremlin_commando
Summary: Varis is good at a lot of things: military strategy, political maneuvering, most boardgames known in Garlemald. He is, however, astonishingly awful at juggling his career and being the single parent of young prodigy.Set around The Hunt short story from Chronicles of Light.





	The Road to Hell

**Author's Note:**

> This won't make much sense without having read the short story, but in a nutshell: 
> 
> As his mother died when he was still very young and Varis is away for months at a time on his campaigns, Zenos grows up basically without any meaningful human contact and close to no mental stimulus, leading to his trademark apathy. At age fourteen for reasons unknown his father replaces his sword tutor with a captured hyur swordsman who uses the daily lessons to take out his frustration on Zenos and beat him up instead of teaching him anything. Zenos is thrown for a loop and decides to take the beatings as a challenge instead and over the course of a month he 'hunts' for a solution and through research, observation and rigorous practice finds a way to learn the swordsman's technique of imbuing his weapon with aether, embedding a shard of crystal in his hand to make up for his natural inability to manipulate aether. Enraged by an unworthy Garlean learning the sacred technique, the swordsman tries to kill Zenos, but Zenos kills him in self-defense instead.

If anybody asked, Varis would have been the first to admit that he wasn’t cut out to be a father. It was too soon, his time still evenly split between his military duties and his endless political maneuvering, he had no time to be general and politician  _ and _ father besides.

Yet the pressure was there, both to have a healthy heir to secure his viability to the throne and his wife’s wish to have a child and he gave in. It would be fine, he reassured Regula when his friend voiced his concern. Many a man grew up without the attentions of a father and were none the lesser for it, himself included.

Then his wife died and suddenly his boy had no parents at all, but what could he  _ do _ , really? He had duties, he had plans and he could not throw them all to the wayside! He hired the best tutors there were, the most loyal servants he had access to, he took time away to visit his son every time he was in the capital - more dedication than his own father showed by far,  _ it should be fine _ .  

It wouldn’t be fine.

It seemed manageable for the first few years, when his son was yet too young to detect Varis’ awkwardness around children, the lingering tension he carried from the battlefield. Without his wife’s deft touch to crack the stony exterior he wore for his day to day affairs, he could not help but be distant, cold even, despite his willingness to do right by his offspring, within reasonable limits that is. 

Things changed for the worse as time passed. A young boy’s wish to be held as he prattled on about his day was clear and to be expected, but as Zenos grew Varis understood him less and less. Even regular visits could not dispel the growing chasm between them. Silence stretched, Zenos withdrawing more and more every time Varis failed to connect with his son.

It was around the boy’s tenth nameday when the complaints started. The first few times he dismissed it as the tutors’ incompetence. It was without doubt that his son was a gifted child after all, but the more advanced tutors he hired, the less time they lasted and the louder the complaints became. Headstrong, uncooperative, arrogant, scatterbrained, disrespectful, indifferent,  _ unsettling _ … the list could go on. To add insult to injury, Zenos had no excuse as to why he refused to pay proper attention to his studies, mutely looking past his father with such an empty look he would have thought the boy a broken automaton if he didn’t know better. The stubborn silence made Varis’ temper flare and more than once he ended up storming off, lest he did or said something he would regret.

Four more summers passed like that, even the brightest scholars suffering Zenos’ behavior for mere weeks before departing. When the last tutor walked out on him after only three days, Varis had enough. Zenos will be taught to respect his tutors the hard way if he must.

“Bring me the prisoner.”

* * *

The man was staring dead ahead, pretending to ignore the guards and the approaching Varis - a strategy that reminded him of Zenos, although his son utilized it better despite his youth. Varis was momentarily torn between a small flare of pride and annoyance at the reminder.

"You are the last master of your technique, or so they say. A man of honor and skill unparalleled even among his peers." So went the rumors, all exaggerated drivel of course, but these swordsmen were proud fools - a pride which ultimately lead to their downfall. "It would be a shame to see such a renowned technique die out, all for naught."

He circled around until he came to face the man, the hyur too short to look him in the eyes even if he tried. "I have an offer for you. My son is in need of a tutor, one who shall teach him mastery of the sword so he may pass the entry exam to the academy come spring. If he passes, you and your family are free to go as citizens of the empire and will be granted leave to found a school dedicated to your art." He didn't say what would happen if the man failed. Threats were of little effect when it came to his ilk, but the chance to found his order anew - to train new rebels for his cause - should have been enticing enough that they were rendered unnecessary. Alas, the prisoner remained silent and unresponsive; perhaps he had taste for a different kind of bait.

"I shall personally monitor his progress as my duties allow, of course."

The hyur looked up sharply, his eyes burning with hate and determination and Varis allowed himself a smug smile.

The thirst for vengeance truly made everyone predictable.

* * *

It was the unofficial rule of the Galvus household that when Varis was away with his Legion, he was not to be bothered unless the sky was falling down and a disaster or three was happening.

Now the news that the swordmaster was dead (most likely by the hand of Zenos no less) and his son was injured by some sort of magic (definitely by the swordmaster) was  _ exactly  _ the sort of disaster that had Varis throwing everything aside and running back home.

He wasn’t worried when they reported that the hyur was rough on Zenos - a good thrashing on occasion even benefitted a pupil suffering from overconfidence. What was more, Zenos seemed not to be discouraged by the harsh treatment, quite the opposite. His son showed more motivation than ever before, picking up his sword to train on his own. It was a first and Varis had high hopes that it would lead to something more.

Zenos sitting on his bed, his arm wrapped in heavy gauze glowing with magical symbols and doing his best to avoid his father’s eyes was not how Varis envisioned this to end. The older Galvus pulled up a chair so he could sit face to face with his son, his face set in a stony mask to hide his worry.

“They have found the body in the training hall. Is there anything you want to tell me?”

“What is there to tell?” Zenos frowned, his voice as flat and empty as ever. “Is this why you came?”

Varis grit his teeth to keep his annoyance in check.

“Of course I came! You were injured!” It came out harsher than he intended, an irritated snap that had his son blinking in surprise. "Were he not already dead, I would have his head for this."

"Oh." Zenos looked down at his arm like he saw it for the first time, the symbols pulsing steadily with his heartbeat. Server aether imbalance, the healer had said - healer, for the Imperial Medici were lost on the cause of the boy's sudden fever and seemingly random seizures - that had no other treatment than to apply a stabilizing binding at the source and hope for the best. "This is self inflicted."

Varis needed all his control to not snap at his son again. He took a deep, calming breath and counted to ten before speaking again.

"Zenos. Tell me what happened. From the very beginning." What could possibly drive him to injure himself in such a manner, never mind how? Varis wanted to know everything.

Slowly, reluctantly Zenos recalled the whole fiasco, from the day to day thrashings that he nonetheless managed to pry the elusive technique from (an act of genius by its own right that had Varis rapidly re-evaluate every complaint and dismissal from the boy's previous tutors; clearly the fault had lied in them and their inability to handle such a talented pupil rather than in his son) through his own training and research which lead to the final confrontation a moon later when the savage tried to strike him down with murderous intent for replicating his technique.

It left Varis equal parts awed at his son's prowess and horrified that such things could come to pass without him realising. Busy with his military duties he came to rely on the servants' reports without verifying their accuracy for himself, a mistake that almost had his son killed. 

Yet what truly broke his resolve to remain the aloof parental figure he had only ever known his own father to be were his son's words when the last glint of liveliness that Zenos acquired during his retelling faded from his eyes again.

"Have I passed your test?" Such a simple question, yet it made cold dread grip Varis' spine. A test, his son thought. That Zenos assumed the abuse and attempted murder was par for the course, some twisted challenge his father had set for him was unthinkable.

It wasn't often that Varis yae Galvus felt guilt, but there was no denying it now. It was his oversight that allowed this to happen after all, and despite the less than ideal nature of their relationship, he wished only the best for his son. To have it backfire in such a disastrous manner was unacceptable.

He moved over to sit on the bed, next to Zenos and he was stuck by how small his boy still was, years away from his first big grow spurt. 

"Come here," he said as gently as he could and drew Zenos into his lap, in a tentative embrace like he used to when his son was young enough to seek such comforts. Zenos was tense as a bowstring for a horrible moment before he relaxed and returned the hug, burrowing further into his father's warmth. 

"I did not mean for you to be treated so cruelly. It has been my oversight to not ascertain for myself that what was reported to be harsh training did not extend into needless abuse." It was difficult to admit to his failure, but it had to be done. "Despite the circumstances, you have performed admirably. I am proud of you." He stroked his son's hair, wondering briefly why they never did this anymore. He missed the times when Zenos still sought him with a smile and rushed into an embrace when Varis returned, having wrestled time away from his duties. "As the mistake was mine, it falls to me to make reparations. Ask of me any one thing and I shall grant it if it is in my power to do so."

He waited patiently for a handful of minutes for an answer that did not come.

"Zenos?"

His son was asleep.

**Author's Note:**

> This was supposed to be just a short thing to break me out of writer's block, but it took me far too long to write in the end. Well, I hope at least some of you would enjoy it.
> 
> I'm most likely in the minority here, but despite his bullshit in a lot of things, I generally don't see Varis as in any way malicious towards his son. Do I want to punch him for being a terrible parent? Certainly. Do I think he hated and/or deliberately tried to hurt Zenos? No, I don't think that would be quite in character for him, but who knows. We might still learn more about them later in the story


End file.
